Returning to my quarters, I stood before a bronze mirror.
My younger self was fresh and full of life.
I felt I could stand there all day just looking at the mirror.
After enjoying my youthful appearance for a good while, I suddenly thought of Hwa Mugi.
What was that bastard doing now?
Was he undergoing some hellish training somewhere to become stronger?
If only I could find and kill him before he grows stronger, the problem would be simply solved.
The issue was that finding Hwa Mugi was no easy task.
He appeared in the martial world as if he had fallen from the sky, and after achieving the Three Seals, he left the world and went into seclusion.
There was absolutely no information about him.
Releasing people throughout the Central Plains to search for someone named Hwa Mugi was also a dangerous attempt that could provoke an unexpected reaction from him.
In the end, becoming stronger than Hwa Mugi was the best option.
Fortunately, heaven had given me enough time to prepare.
I would make time my ally and grow stronger.
Was it because I thought of Hwa Mugi? The inner energy in my energy core stirred and reacted.
The Energy-dispersing poison had vanished as if it had never been administered in the first place.
With no traces of poisoning left after the duel, it meant Gu Pyeong-ho had acquired a proper poison.
I suppose that's why he dared to think of using an Energy-dispersing poison on a Heavenly Demon bloodline.
Lost in thought for a moment, I called out the name of the most grateful person in my life.
"Lee Ahn."
At my call, a pleasant voice came from outside the door.
"Yes, Young Master."
"Come in."
The door then opened, and a young woman entered.
Her martial robes looked like they were about to burst; the word 'obese' suited her more than 'fat'.
My bodyguard, Lee Ahn.
I didn't know back then.
That her immense size was because of the martial art she practiced.
No, that it was because of me.
Full Body Petrification Art.
It was a secret technique that temporarily made one's flesh as hard as stone, a hidden art passed down secretly only to her.
The massive increase in body size was a fatal side effect of this art.
I looked at her through the mirror and asked, "How do I look?"
From within the mirror, she answered cheerfully.
"You are the most handsome man in the martial world."
Lee Ahn's voice was this pleasant.
I could guarantee she would win if she entered a contest in the Central Plains for the most beautiful voice.
"That's no fun."
"The answer is always set for the one who pays the monthly salary."
Not only was her voice pleasant, but she also had such a cheerful personality.
Our eyes met through the mirror, and Lee Ahn asked me, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
The reason I survived that day was thanks to Lee Ahn.
She had thrown her body in the way of the Sword Qi Hwa Mugi had sent to kill me.
Hwa Mugi's Sword Qi pierced through her Full Body Petrification Art, but in the process, its trajectory shifted slightly.
That was why it had narrowly missed my heart.
Hwa Mugi did not confirm my death.
He would not have thought his attack could miss.
Lee Ahn's sacrifice and his arrogance saved me.
'Thank you, Lee Ahn.'
She was ready to lay down her life for me, but back then, I saw her as just another bodyguard.
I took her presence for granted, just as one lives without realizing how grateful they should be for the air they breathe.
"You did well in the duel today. It was truly amazing."
I turned to her.
I slowly walked towards the real her, not the one in the mirror.
There was a difference between the her in my memory and the real her.
'She was bigger than I thought.'
I stood there staring at her, recalling her appearance as a child.
With gentle eyes and a sharp nose, she looked like a doll that was so pretty when she smiled.
Everyone agreed that if she grew up like that, she would become the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven.
That pretty girl one day appeared overweight.
She had gained so much weight that I couldn't tell how much she had cried, or how swollen her eyes were.
Even back then, that little girl had told me with the same look in her eyes as today.
I will protect you, Young Master.
What could that little girl have been feeling?
Her only crime was being born in the Demon Sect and being raised as a bodyguard.
The price she had to pay was far too great.
She gave up an appearance that could have made her the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven, but did I ever soothe her heart? Perhaps after she gained weight, I gradually began to treat her coldly? I can't recall many memories with her.
On the other hand, she kept her promise.
She threw her large body to block the Sword Qi, and thanks to that, I lived.
I think this regression is worthwhile just for being able to save Lee Ahn.
'Lee Ahn, I'll make a promise too.
I will definitely get rid of the side effects of the Full Body Petrification Art.'
I spoke to her abruptly.
"We shouldn't get close."
She asked with a puzzled look, "Pardon? Why is that?"
"You're not just any martial artist, you're a bodyguard. Building affection with a bodyguard is like scoring points to ask them to die for me, isn't it? It's a despicable thing to do."
"What are you talking about? It is only natural that I protect you, Young Master."
"What's natural about sacrifice? It's always yourself first, then your family, then the person you're guarding. I'd rather have a rational person like that protect me."
Lee Ahn didn't hesitate for a moment.
"I cannot do that. For me, you are number one, and number two is also you, Young Master. And I have no family."
I could not dare measure the depth of this stubborn woman's loyalty to me.
"You're acting strange today."
"Want to see something stranger? Let's go."
"Where to?"
I strode out and said, "To flip a dining table."
I went straight to the kitchen.
Then I called all the kitchen staff, including the head chef, Chef Im, and had them line up.
Among those lined up, the person I called out was an assistant chef who had worked here for three years.
"Why did you do it?"
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"I'm asking why you put Energy-dispersing poison in my food."
At those words, everyone was startled.
"No, it wasn't me!"
The good thing about regressing is that I don't need to look into people's hearts.
I already knew why this guy had put the poison.
He was addicted to gambling and had a huge debt.
After squandering his parents' money and even all his friends' money, he committed the audacious act of putting Energy-dispersing poison in the food of a Heavenly Demon bloodline.
Gambling is this terrifying.
"Did you go gambling again with the three thousand nyang you received?"
The man flinched for a moment, then prostrated himself on the spot.
"Please spare me. I was wrong. I was blinded by money and committed a great sin."
"Did Gu Pyeong-ho come to you directly and give you the money?"
"Yes."
The moment he confessed, I beheaded him with a single stroke.
Slice!
It was my first kill after regressing, but I felt no particular emotion.
It was a life I had lived by ruthlessly killing those I considered evil.
Killing him without pain was the last mercy I showed him.
In my previous life, he died today as well.
On the night of the duel, he was stabbed and killed in a gambling den.
It must have been the blade of an assassin sent by Gu Pyeong-ho to silence him.
In any case, poisoning food was an unforgivable act.
A single pardon would only lead to another attempt.
"Of all people, a chef putting poison in food!"
At my words, Chef Im, with a devastated expression, knelt down.
"I am sorry, Young Master."
"What's this? With your bad knees?"
"Everything is my responsibility."
"Why is this your fault, Chef Im? It's the fault of the one who put the poison."
"Because anything that happens in the kitchen is my responsibility."
I helped him up.
"Chef Im. If something unjust happens in the Main Sect, is it our father's fault?"
"Pardon? No, absolutely not."
"Then why do you say it's your fault, Chef Im? Stop with the nonsense and please make me some shredded chicken noodles for dinner! I've been wanting to eat it for a long time."
How many decades has it been?
"But you just had some the day before yesterday?"
"Chef Im, I'm still holding a blade. Dripping with blood."
"I will prepare it deliciously."
When I left the kitchen, Lee Ahn, who had been waiting outside, asked urgently.
"I apologize. It is my fault as the one in charge of your protection."
"Why is everyone so eager to take responsibility? Did you all catch a responsibility disease?"
"I will ensure such a thing never happens again."
"Enough. Just spread the word about this throughout the sect. That Gu Pyeong-ho instigated it, and I cut down the chef who put the poison."
"The Blood Heaven Blade Demon's side will deny it."
"It won't matter. There are many eyes and ears that saw and heard what happened here."
All the kitchen staff saw it, so denying it would be useless.
"If you do something dirty, you should get a bad reputation. Spread the word! Make the dogs in the sect bark 'Energy-dispersing, Energy-dispersing'!"
"I understand."
"Let's go."
Lee Ahn, who was following me, said carefully.
"Ah... you really seem different today."
As the one who served me most closely, she was the first to notice the change in me.
"You're making jokes you never used to make. Your actions and words also seem different."
"I've decided to live a different life starting today."
"Suddenly?"
"Yes, suddenly. I don't think people change little by little every day. They change drastically when there's a catalyst. It's difficult and doesn't happen often, which is why everyone says people don't change, right? Let's go."
I started walking again, not giving her a chance to ask what the catalyst was.
* * *
"Is all of this necessary?"
Lee Ahn was surprised looking at the things I had prepared for the hunt with my father.
I nodded as I packed the prepared items neatly into a large leather pouch.
"It's necessary."
"I didn't know you had a knack for camping, Young Master."
Lee Ahn, no one in this Main Sect has camped as much as I have.
"I have to prepare a lot since I'll be with Father."
"I hope you have a good time."
"Will I?"
It wasn't an empty complaint.
I was confident about other things, but not about my relationship with my father.
Even though I had lived longer than my father's age...
I was even less confident.
"You have to make it happen. It will work out."
Lee Ahn smiled and bid me farewell.
"Have sweet dreams tonight."
But I didn't sleep well that night.
I had a terrible nightmare.
In my dream, I was still searching for the materials for the Great Regression Art.
It was a dream where I wandered all over the place because the materials were not where they were supposed to be.
Then I heard Lee Ahn's voice.
"Young Master, are you alright?"
I must have screamed in my sleep.
"I'm not alright. It was a filthy dream."
"What kind of dream did you have?"
"To use your situation as an analogy, a dream where I had to start over from being a low-level martial artist?"
"Aah! I'd rather you just kill me."
Sitting on the bed, I looked at the bronze mirror leaning against the wall.
As if to say a dream is just a dream, I could see my younger self.
My mood improved again at the sight of my youthful self.
Yes, if I can greet the morning of my youth like this again, I don't mind having nightmares every day.
"You seem nervous."
"It's a journey with someone scarier than a tiger."
"If it were me, I wouldn't even be able to breathe properly."
"I'm going to wash up. Prepare a new set of martial robes for me."
"Yes."
In my past life, whenever things got tough, I would imagine what I would do if I regressed.
Just imagining it made me feel better and helped me endure the pain.
But in all those many imaginings, hunting with my father on the second day of my regression was never there.
Whether my instinctive choice was right, I would find out the moment the hunt ends.
After finishing all my preparations, I slung the large leather pouch over my shoulder and slowly walked towards the Heavenly Demon Hall, where my father was waiting.